In Baby Reindeer, Martha sends Donny a barrage of emails, all of which are filled with typos that don’t reflect how she speaks in real life — but why does she type in this way?
As one of the best new TV shows of 2024 so far, Baby Reindeer has raced to first place on the Netflix chart, captivating audiences with its heart-wrenching story based on the real-life experiences of creator and star, Richard Gadd.
The seven-part series details a period of his 20s when he was targeted by a stalker (played by Jessica Gunning) while trying to make it as a stand-up comedian in London. Aside from character names and a few details, the story is all true.
Even the typo-filled emails Martha sends to Donny (Gadd) are real. But why exactly does Martha type like this, especially when she speaks to Donny in such a coherent way?
Why does Martha type the way she does in Baby Reindeer?
Though there’s no certain answer as to why Martha types the way she does in Baby Reindeer – and why Gadd’s stalker typed this way in real life – there’s been numerous studies indicating an increase in the frequency of virtual messaging and a decrease in the quality of the content sent by people in manic episodes.
The volume of messages Martha sent certainly matches up to this theory. In real life, Gadd’s stalker sent him a staggering 41,071 emails and 350 hours of voicemail messages, as well as 744 tweets, 106 pages of letters, and 46 Facebook messages. The series displays a host of these emails, which varied in tone and were filled with spelling and grammatical mistakes.
Martha's emails from Baby Reindeer. Every one of them real. pic.twitter.com/7jKVplc5vX
— Netflix (@netflix) April 13, 2024
No doubt the sheer number of messages she was sending had something to do with the lack of quality, but it also portrays her mental state at the time. In a previously published case study, a patient with bipolar disorder was found to exhibit “a dramatic increase in the frequency of text messaging along with a decrease in the quality of the content in text messages sent” while in a manic episode.
Adding to this, the US Department of Psychiatry states that research has shown “a manic episode may be preceded by rising numbers of typos, faster typing, more frequent use of the ‘delete’ key or tremors detected by the phone’s accelerometer.”
This is the main theory put forward by Baby Reindeer viewers after one asked why Martha types in the way she does. “She seems to talk fine in real life but all her texts are riddled with spelling mistakes and it really confuses me,” they wrote. “Is this explained later or is there a reason?”
In response, a Redditor explained, “It’s a common behavior in people who are experiencing manic episodes. In a psychotic state, people tend to talk really fast, thus they also type fast and do not proofread while typing.” Others suggested she may also have dyslexia, including this person who commented, “I’m thinking it’s a case of mania, dyslexia and not giving two f’s about it.”
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Why does Martha type “Sent from my iPhone”?
Martha signs off her emails with, “Sent from my iPhone,” but later on there are spelling mistakes in this line, indicating that she doesn’t actually own an iPhone. This is just another part of Martha’s decisions, mirroring her claims that she’s a high-ranking lawyer who owns flats across London.
Even though Donny knows this isn’t true, he pities her and humors Martha’s delusions. Later, he takes her to her real home (a small, rundown flat) and finds a drawer full of burner phones she likely used to message her other targets, none of which are Apple devices. Martha arguably signed off with “Sent from my iPhone” to make Donny think she was successful.
As said by one Baby Reindeer viewer: “I felt like it went along with her obvious disconnect with reality and how people perceive her. The moment that she handed him her phone to try and get his number, I realized that the ‘Sent from my iPhone’ was something she was adding to her email signature on purpose, not really having any regard for the fact that someone can obviously see that she does not have an iPhone.
“It was like her not being able to afford a cup of tea, but insisting that she has a high-powered job and a ton of important clients. She tells obvious lies but thinks she’s fooling people.”
Why does Martha call Donny Baby Reindeer?
Martha calls Donny Baby Reindeer due to the fact that he reminds her of a stuffed toy she had when she was younger. The explanation shows how Martha came to be the way she is, as she indicates that the reindeer toy was the “only good thing” about her childhood.
At the very end of the Netflix series, Donny goes to a pub where he listens to one of Martha’s voicemails. “I had this wee cuddly toy when I was young. Went with me everywhere. Earliest memory I have, I think, was Christmastime. This old photo of me, sitting with this paper hat on my head and this baby reindeer beside me,” she says in the message.
“Anyway, this reindeer was this cuddly, fluffy thing. It had big lips, huge eyes, and the cutest wee bum. I still have it to this day. It was the only good thing about my childhood. I’d hug it when they fought. And they fought a lot, you know? Well, you are the spit of that reindeer. The same nose. Same eyes. Same cute wee bum. It means so much to me. You… you mean so much to me.”
Baby Reindeer is streaming on Netflix now. You can read more about Richard Gadd’s next project here. For new content, check out the TV shows heading to streaming this month.